Big Bird's Adventures

Changing the format of these posts for the time being. Up until this post I had been re-imagining the trip from memory and maybe isolating details from my daily posts each day of the trip, however as I head into this section of the trip, I was fairly detailed in my daily posts, and my memories seem a little challenged. Some of that could be the day-to-day riding was generally uneventful. Big skies, open range, large irrigated farms, lonely roads and hay harvesting leave little in the way of day to day excitement. So I lean on my daily posts for anything that may have happened on those days that have since found deep slumber in the recesses of my brain. One tidbit that struck me often in my early days was the amount of tire debris along the road from retreads. This pose will detail some of those thoughts.

July 12, Day 26 – A hard day indeed. When I decided to stay in Spearfish, I had done so mainly because my friend Larry had posed it as a possible place where I could get set up with some in/out laws that he has, but that didn’t work out. However looking at the town, it seemed like if I took the 20 from the rest of the previous day and added it to today I could still reach Rapid City. Oh what a choice that was.
I took in the breakfast at the BW, and hit the road by 645. Downtown was super quiet however once I got on route, I ran smack into the back of a 5K that was getting ready to start. I was about to move through when the gun went off and the crowd started moving anyway, so I rode along until they spread out enough for me to advance my way into the lower grades of Spearfish Canyon. It didn’t take long before I and the race parted ways and I was on 14A Southbound with a good shoulder, and riding between canyons walls. I passed a 12 marker with a cone, and then an 11 marker with a cone a mile later. “Hmmmm. Seems there is another race going on”. Around a couple more corners I came to an aid station for the Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon in which the riders started from way up the canyon and race down it. “Okay” I thought. I will see the whole race then as I ascend. I think I saw the first 2 lead runners somewhere around mile 7 (their 7 not mine), and then a 1/4 mile further the first chase group where one of the runners asked urgently “Are there any port-o-johns?!?!” I gave him the half good truth that yes there were some ahead, but at least a couple of miles still. I hope he made it. I know from my racing days, that whether or not I voided myself at home, by the time I got to the race and was within 15 minutes of my start time, I was racing for the same resource.